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It’s all or nothing mode now for the Michigan football team. The second loss eliminated any possible hopes of a championship and the playoffs, but the third loss it suffered last week to Wisconsin was the nail in the coffin. The Wolverines can still end the season with a positive record, but they need to win four of their final six games, which seems daunting.
For the Wolverines to reappear in the AP Top 25 poll and the soon to be College Football Playoff rankings, Michigan first needs to start winning games. A win over Rutgers this week won’t shock the voters, but it will be a positive sign that this team still has some life in it. If the Wolverines get back to winning, it will call for other teams’ help to pull off some upsets to help move the Wolverines back into the rankings.
This week we see two huge Big Ten games go down, and the Wolverines should keep tabs on both games as both could dictate how the rest of their season could play out. Check out which three games you should keep tabs on before the Wolverines kick-off against the Scarlet Knights on Saturday night.
Game 1: No. 10 Wisconsin vs. No. 19 Northwestern
The first huge Big Ten game of the week is the battle for the top spot in the Big Ten West between Wisconsin and Northwestern. Both teams enter undefeated, and with Northwestern having played all of its scheduled games so far this season, it has a slight edge over the Badgers. This game means a lot because if the winner of this game slips up and loses once within the next three weeks, it has this tiebreaker and can still play in Indianapolis in December.
Looking at the remaining schedules for both teams, Wisconsin has the tougher path. In two weeks, it plays No. 9 Indiana, and that game could be where the Badgers might slip. Northwestern doesn’t play anymore ranked teams and the toughest opponent on its schedule left after this week is a 2-2 Iowa team. If Wisconsin loses this game, then loses to Indiana, its postseason hopes are done. If Wisconsin wins and loses to Indiana, it could still play in the Big Ten Championship and is a better chance to unseat Ohio State in that title game than Northwestern. Wisconsin needs this win more.
Root for: No. 10 Wisconsin
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Game 2: No. 14 Oklahoma State vs. No. 18 Oklahoma
This game could be looked at either way, and that’s understandable. Both teams have an easy schedule after this week, so whoever wins this could remain undefeated for the rest of the season before its conference championship game. The records, though, that is the difference-maker.
Oklahoma already has two losses, and with plenty of undefeated teams ahead of them, there is little to no chance that it can ever jump over any one-loss team. Oklahoma State, though, has one loss, and a win over Oklahoma could push it possibly into the top 10 if a few undefeated teams ahead of it fall. Two losses for Oklahoma State, though, put it in the same category as the Sooners.
Root for: No. 18 Oklahoma
Game 3: No. 9 Indiana vs. No. 3 Ohio State
The other huge game in the Big Ten this week is the battle for the top spot in the Big Ten East between the two undefeated teams, Indiana and Ohio State. This game is clearly the toughest one of the year for the Buckeyes, and that wasn’t expected two months ago — as Penn State and Michigan have fallen out of the race — and OSU’s game against Maryland was canceled last week.
Indiana has to take on No. 10 Wisconsin in two weeks, so it isn’t out of the woods yet if it gets by Ohio State. Indiana would be allowed to slip up once if it wins this game, and it has the best chance to push the Buckeyes out of the Big Ten Championship along with the College Football Playoffs if it can pull this out. Wolverine fans do this weekly, but this is probably the week they should root against OSU the most outside of its annual matchup against the Buckeyes.